Camp Haiastan Friendships Shape Armenian-American Lives
Camp friends become family
A personal essay recounts decades of memories from Camp Haiastan, the Armenian summer camp in Franklin, Pennsylvania, tracing how childhood experiences there forged lifelong friendships within the diaspora community.
The author describes arriving at age 7 in 1989 unprepared and homesick, but gradually finding belonging through supportive counselors and camp directors. Separated from camp friends during the school year in Florida—before text messaging and social media—the author relied on handwritten letters to maintain connections.
The piece highlights the camp's role in building Armenian-American community bonds across geographic distances, emphasizing how counselors and administrators shaped formative experiences. By the author's final summer as a camper, Camp Haiastan had transformed from a place of departure tears to one where leaving felt unbearable.
